Stylist Walter Hill has Directed some Very Underrated and Under-Appreciated Movies and this is One of them. With a Killer Cast including Lance Henriksen, Ellen Barkin, Morgan Freeman, and Forest Whitaker it is Mickey Rourke as the Title Character that Slinks Back in the Frame and Plays Off the Others with Pathos and Empathy that draws the Viewer into this Violent and Edgy Neo-Noir.It is a Colorful Downer of a Movie that has Roots in the Pulp Fiction and Film Noir of the Thirties and Forties. Set in Modern Day New Orleans the Mood is Bleak and Sombre. The Movie Burns with Style and the Charismatic Characters all Contribute to this Low Brow Version of a Greek Tragedy. The Film was Ignored and Panned but it is a Gem Waiting for Discovery by Modern Film Buffs and has a Packed in Quality that Unleashes a Baggage of Bang Up Scenes that Click with a Cutting Edge of Nastiness and Cynicism. Henriksen and Barkin are Foul Mouthed Low Lifes of the Highest Order and Morgan Freeman is on hand to Deliver some of the most Defeatist Dialog.Mickey Rourke shows once again a Knack for Picking the most Off Beat Roles and Delivers yet another take of Someone Outside the Orbit of Hollywood. The Ry Cooder Score is just One More Addition to this Already Rich Rumble of the Mean Streets.

Many reviews to date regarding the 1989 film 'Johnny Handsome' claimed that the Walter Hill crime thriller was a slow moving, poorly aimed feature. Since I gave the film a chance I came to the conclusion that those critics probably watched the opening half hour before skipping off to the salon with their BFF's to get their back, crack and sack waxed and flap wrists over watercress soup and Madonna music videos. I'm guessing that was late '80's Hollywood anyway, I don't really want to know the specifics... I found it thoroughly enjoyable, 'Johnny Handsome', that was; very influential (inter-textual references made by great modern directors such as John Woo with the likes of 'Hard Target' have nodded in Handsome's direction) and in regard to issues still proving highly debatable today contained within the film, it remains far ahead of its time.'Johnny Handsome' is the story of the downtrodden and tragic John Sedley, played with humility and stark realism by Mickey Rourke. Left to fend for himself since the age of 13 after his prostitute mother died and having been born with a great genetic deformity that has rendered his face as badly deformed as that of the Elephant Man, he is a joke, he's unwanted, unloved and therefore has turned to crime to survive. He cannot talk properly due to the absence of a formal education and also as a result of a hare lip.Sedley is asked by his closest friend Mikey Chalmette, played humbly and earnestly by Scott Wilson, out of desperation to help him set up a heist in their hometown of New Orleans. Double-crossed and left for dead, Sedley is the victim of an attempted murder in prison, which sets him on the road to redemption when a doctor offers a trial of radical reconstructive surgery to cure his genetic deformity as he enters the witness protection program. But smiling darkly on the edge of every scene is Police Lieutenant A.Z. Drones, played softly yet sinisterly by a fresh-faced Morgan Freeman, a man who continually claims that the seemingly fragile and long-damaged Sedley is a born criminal who will offend again, regardless of the efforts of his redeemers to help him become a part of the civilised world.So when Sedley undergoes his miraculous transformation, is given a voice to speak with and learns to exercise his past demons, he takes an honest job. But with Drones on his back like the ghost of his conscience, it isn't long before he is contemplating using his new identity to draw the double-crossing heist partners who put him in prison and now believe he is dead into a revenge plot, playing them off against each other in the process.Johnny Handsome boasts one of the finest lists of actors dedicated to what is essentially a small scale but very well written crime drama. It plays off a single strand narrative but allows all its key characters to play openly and occasionally run riot as they tend to in all Walter Hill films. Everyone has a story and if not, they come with clever pieces of worldly wisdom seldom found in movie characters. Morgan Freeman for one being world renowned for playing such characters.But also with a supporting cast including Forest Whittaker, Lance Henriksen and Ellen Barkin, you're treated to the finest drama you could expect from an '80's crime thriller, that particular decade not exactly known for its drama over absent minded action films and comedies.New Orleans itself plays a fine character in the film, breathing colour into its scenes. From the docks, the narrow streets and the colourful nightclubs of the French Quarter and the unmistakeably distinctive graveyards right down to the architecture within the apartments and houses, the city gives this film an undeniable sense of place that few others could have provided. This is also a regular feature of Hill's older films such as The Driver, The Warriors, 48 Hours and Southern Comfort. Hill is as much an artist painting a picture as he is a director of unique acting talent.But Sedley's affliction is the main theme of the film, something that not only draws out the worst in the worst people but often the worst of the best. It's difficult to tell whether Lt. A.Z. Drones is either a good man or a villain because he believes that Sedley's new face is just a mask hiding the ugly truth of who he used to be and who he will always be deep down. Throughout the film and towards the end, Sedley comes to believe that this is true and that he might actually be redeemed simply by coming to accept it but much of the story is about the conflicting emotions of a man being torn in both directions by good and bad influences, weakened by a lifetime of torment and neglect. In many respects, it's a moral tale, which is surprising but in a good way.Maybe 'Johnny Handsome' was too honest, thoughtful and too unconventionally cool for critics expecting yet another Walter Hill all-male shoot em up after he gave the world 'Extreme Prejudice' and 'Red Heat' but maybe it was Hill's decision to wear his grizzled heart on his sleeve, to allow his main character to fall in love and to want forgiveness, that let down his 98% male audience. After all, he hasn't made such a statement since, yet 'Johnny Handsome' is possibly the most mature piece of work in Hill's back catalogue and although it didn't work so well in 1989, I feel it's more relevant now than it may ever be, in a vain world obsessed with looks yet one that is set off balance by a sympathetic minority that understands the ugliness of this world represents the reality so frequently avoided!

Well renowned action director Walter Hill tackles a more moody, character driven crime drama in the shape of "Johnny Handsome" and it would have to be one of his under-the-radar productions. The story follows that of a deformed criminal John who stages a heist, however there's a double-cross which sees his best friend killed and him going to prison. There he is asked to take part in a rehabilitation program, where they clear him of his deformity while also getting him parole. Hoping now that he can start a new life, however John is still burning inside for vengeance. Presenting an ideal cast, Hill really does cast a spell over his audience with solid (even if it does feel a bit underdone) story-telling backed up by credibly good performances from leading man Mickey Rourke (within the peak of his career) and equally so support by Morgan Freeman, Ellen Barkin Lance Henrikson, Elizabeth McGovern and Forest Whitaker. Everybody chips in, adding their own stamp to proceedings and establishing gripping character rapports or confrontations (e.g. between Freeman's detective and Whitaker's doctor).Hill's cruise-like direction is crisp and tidy, engineering some intense passages and some well-oiled, edgy action set-pieces, although they are low-key (still violent) but this really does belong to its cast and the interestingly, smart story (that was adapted off John Godey's novel "The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome"). The ambitious plot does have a lot going on and it might not all come together, but how it does play out stays constantly interesting and rather unpleasant in its details. Rourke's character Johnny is given a chance to start over and go straight, from this physical change brings much needed confidence but the hunger inside for revenge can't simply be cured or forgotten. Someone he cared for, who saw beyond his deformity deserved payback. Johnny would deliver it. So he carefully plans out the revenge, wanting to tease before actually ending it and things get even more suspenseful when the situation starts to go off the rails. Lance Henrikson and Ellen Barkin really do nail down their explosively sly parts of the two crooks who betrayed Johnny. The ever-reliable, Hill regular Ry Cooder adds a smoking touch to the music score.One of those films I didn't know all that much of, but came away pleasantly surprised.

When I saw the cover of this movie, I knew that I had to watch it. It has an amazing cast. Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Morgan Freeman, Forest Whitaker and Lance Henrikson. 5 actors I really like, in one movie, I thought that this has to be good. Sadly, the actors have been the pretty much only thing worth watching. They did a great job, and saved this movie, from gaining 2 points, or less.The script is awful. I rarely saw a story as unconvincing as this one. It's really a pity, with this cast, an amazing movie would have been possible. Nothing is above average, not the action, not the conversations, not the music... The only reason to watch this flick, are the actors.